Over the last three decades, promotion of information literacy has become one of the main goals of librarians and academics. As the emergence of information technologies has raised new challenges and roles for users, information literacy has shifted from the concept of simple training to the provision of the skills and competencies that are critical to the improved use of information. A terminological, conceptual and statistical analysis of the main subjects related to information literacy, as well as its evolution over the last 30 years, is provided with the aim of illustrating how information literacy has been progressively incorporated into the library and academic fields. (Contains 8 tables, 7 figures, and 3 notes.)